The children have broken up for the summer and last week I was on the phone and, yes, you’ve guessed it, within seconds of speaking, one of them needed me.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a child whose parent is on the phone, must be in want of a drink. And a snack. And help pulling down his trousers!
Let’s just say that I wasn’t my usual bright and cheery self. I made my apologies, went and sorted whatever drama was occurring and then came back.
It was a business call and we got to talking about how to shift the less than calm atmosphere. And of course it didn’t take long for Joel Osteen’s quote to come up in conversation:
“Whatever follows ‘I am’ is going to come looking for you.”
Too often we tell ourselves, ‘I’m scared.’ ‘I’m stuck.’ ‘I’m stressed out because the children are off school and it’s hard work juggling having fun with them at the same time as running a business from home.’
What if you weren’t scared?
What if you weren’t stuck?
What if you weren’t stressed out?
What if instead of telling ourselves what we are, based on the circumstances on any given day, we instead reminded ourselves of who God says we are and stepped into those shoes?
What would that look like?
“I am God’s child. I am his precious work of art. I am loved. I am more than capable through God’s strength. I am treasured and so delighted over, he sings songs about me.”
And no, I didn’t make that up. God said it first, in the bible. But he didn’t say it just once or twice. The whole book is a love story with reminder after reminder after reminder of how much we are loved.
Because we are human and he knows how easy it is for us to forget!
So how about we start our week by picking one or two God penned ‘I ams’, writing them down and sticking them up somewhere so we can’t help but see them. On the wall over your desk or on your white board? Perfect!
But don’t just put them up and forget about them. Look at them. Read them. Mentally chew over the words and allow them to really get to you.
And until the next time, keep smiling 🙂